As airplane traffic soars and winter weather turns nasty, one serious and perennial environmental problem, aircraft deicing fluid (glycol) runoff, may have been solved by Timothy P. Seel, engineering manager at Radiant Aviation Services, Inc., Niagara Falls, NY.

Michael Goodman Energy processing units convert natural or propane gas into infrard heat.

Seel invented InfraTek, a patented infrared deicing system that converts natural gas into infrared heat. It is approved for use by the FAA and may see its market climb sharply if the EPA passes new glycol processing regulations. A clamshell deicing hanger can be built quickly and economically for any size aircraft. The process melts and evaporates ice and snow without harming the plane. In the U.S. alone, where over 200 airports deice, more than 21 million gallons of glycol, which depletes oxygen in water, are discharged to surface water annually causing widespread aquatic life problems. Another 2 million gallons cause treatment plant problems.